Hey everybody! I recently moved to CO from S FL and am looking for some information on successfully hunting waterfowl here in CO. I have been doing a lot of reading and a bit of scouting on some of the SWA's and see some potential. Not to mention other big lakes and reservoirs around the state.

I have always hunted by boat in FL. Typically we just run our boat up in some cat tails or other tall grassy stands and that is our blind. Never have hunted from shore on any lakes or reservoirs. My question to anybody willing to help out is that if I were to hunt somewhere like 11 mile reservoir or clear creek reservoir, do I need one of those blinds you lay down in? It just seems as though there isnt a lot of cover on lake edges so I would need some kind of cover for the ducks. What is the most effective way to hunt a lake shore or reservoir here in CO?

Also everyone says the I-76 corridor can be a nightmare. Are there better places further north or south that may not get as much pressure?

One more question, what type of storms am I looking for that will push down the birds? Snow storms from the North and West? Thank you all in advance for any information provided. I do appreciate it.

Hey Duckman. I am in Denver. I am fully prepared to travel quite a bit. I was out by Brush and Ft. Morgan this weekend scouting around. Saw some decent spots but nothing that really grabbed me.

This weekend I am considering going up to 11 mile or possibly near clear creek reservoir. I camped out there earlier this summer and fished clear creek res and thought it looked like a decent spot. Anyone know if that is too high for Ducks? i think its 9000' elevation.

9000 would more than likely be too high. The hunting out near brush and fort morgan is usually pretty good. There are alot of the SWA's that you can call in two weeks before and get a blind reservation on one of the lakes on the property so you don't have to compete with the other hunters as much

If you are down in Denver I might suggest staying down there lower in Elevation. I live up in Fairplay and the duck hunting is less than great. If you want to hunt up here there are places to go but you do need a layout blind. Eleven mile is just short grass and such. there are birds but the ratio of birds to hunters is pretty high so they don't decoy real great. Sorry to paint a bleak picture not trying to keep you away or anything just giving you a heads up.

Sweetest words in the world are when 100 birds are trying to land on your face and somebody yells "KILL 'EM"

Hey no worries at all. Also thank you everyone for all the info on this thread and in PM's. Sounds like the best bet for hunting the front range is to meet some property owners that have ponds or lakes and to make friends with them! I network for my living so it shouldnt be too tough.

I did reserve a blind a spot at Banner Lakes next weekend. Im sure there will be alot of other hunters, but I only need 3-4 good birds to fly by and ill be happy!

I hunted out there middle of the season last year and we killed 9 but nobody else killed anything. It is really hit or miss there. THere are alot of divers out there this time of year. What pond number are you on?

there were definitely some birds flying at banner. i shot like crap today and shoulda limited out. I did get a nice drake mallard that was a very nice duck. had 4 curly feathers. Also got a female wood duck. Thought they were teal at first. Too bad i didnt get the drake.

Had a friend and his pops go out to the Fort Morgan area, and said there were alot of birds out there as well. Will most likely hunt this coming Saturday. Not sure where yet.